Hezbollah fires 65 rockets at northern towns hours after Nasrallah targeted in Beirut

Rockets fired from southern Lebanon are intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system over the Upper Galilee in northern Israel on September 27, 2024. (Jalaa Marey/AFP)

Hezbollah launched some 65 rockets at Israel on Friday night, hours after a major Israel Defense Forces strike in Beirut, believed to have targeted the terror group’s chief, Hassan Nasrallah.

Shortly after 10 p.m., a barrage of some 30 rockets was launched at Safed, according to the IDF, with local officials saying that at least two impacts in the northern city caused significant damage.

A 68-year-old woman was lightly wounded as a result of one of the rocket impacts in Safed, according to Magen David Adom medics. The woman sustained trauma from the blast, the medics said, adding that she was being evacuated to Ziv Hospital in the city.

A house in Safed sustained a direct hit, sparking a fire. No one was injured in the impact as the residents had evacuated to the center of the country, the Ynet news site reported, amid the ongoing rocket fire from Lebanon.

Photos and videos posted to social media showed firefighters at the scene working to control the blaze.

The IDF said that some of the rockets were intercepted by air defenses.

Amid the fresh rocket fire on northern communities, the IDF said that its fighter jets struck several Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon along with others deep within the country on Friday evening, continuing a new offensive against the terror group following almost a year of daily rocket fire on Israeli border communities and military posts.

The targets included rocket launchers aimed at Israel and buildings used as weapon depots, the IDF said.

The campaign aims to allow residents of northern Israel to return to their homes, after a year of internal displacement beginning in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which was immediately followed by the start of the barrages from Hezbollah.

Earlier on Friday, Hezbollah fired multiple rocket salvos at northern Israel, resulting in at least one injury, as the IDF continued to strike targets linked to the terror group in Lebanon and Syria.

In Tiberias, a 25-year-old Israeli man was moderately wounded after shrapnel following an interception of a rocket hit him, according to MDA, while two others were lightly hurt after falling while running for shelter during the sirens.

In Haifa, some of the 10 rockets launched from Lebanon on Friday morning were intercepted, while others struck open areas, according to the military. Reports said at least one rocket landed in the sea.

No injuries were reported in the barrage on Haifa, though there were reports that some shrapnel fell in the city. A spokesperson for the Haifa Port said there was no impact or shrapnel in the area of the port itself.

The IDF also said it had shot down four drones that crossed into Israeli airspace from Lebanon off the coast, near the town of Rosh Hanikra situated just south of the border.

Also Friday, the Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed to have launched drones and cruise missiles at Israel overnight, but no sirens sounded in Israel. As of Friday afternoon, the military said it was unaware of any projectiles reaching the country from Iraq.

Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.

So far, the skirmishes have resulted in 26 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 22 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.

Hezbollah has named 513 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. These numbers have not been consistently updated since Israel began its new offensive this week.

Since Israel escalated its airstrikes on the Hezbollah terror group on Monday, more than 630 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the country’s health ministry.

At least a quarter of those killed have been women and children, according to Lebanese health officials. More than 2,000 were wounded.

Israel has said that many Hezbollah operatives are among the dead.